I am new to the forum and could sure use some help. Have reached that point in my life where a man room is overdue..I live in Houston (very hot and humid 8 months out of the year). I have space above a garage (260ish sq. feet; main room is 20x10 and an entry way 6x10...10 foot ceiling). The room is framed in..has electricity but no HVAC.
Clearly, I need an a/c and heating arrangement that is separate from the rest of the house which I will do. But what else? I have surfed the internet at length and talked to owners of a few commercial cigar lounges to get a handle on what I should do with the ventilation to ensure that smoke does not get into the rest of the house. Wife has a very sensitive nose and if she can smell it the room won't get a whole lot of use making the effort an overall failure!
Seems like I can go with a vent fan or good smoke eater or both. In theory I like the idea of venting the smoke. It wil keep positive pressure (or negative pressure..whatever), helping to prevent air going from the cigar room to the rest of the house. And, it will get the smoke out. But, it seems to me that to get one that will suck enough smoke out that I will also be venting all my air conditioned air out as well (you don't want to do that in Houston...trust me). Some guys that I have found on the internet are using 1200 cfm units or more...that seems very heavy duty...and probably loud. Anyone have any thoughts on how much vent power you need to get the smoke out without creating other problems for yourself.
On smoke eaters...do they really work. Even the good ones. And, are they a real substitute for venting the smoke to the outside?
Anyone have any other silver bullets for the problem?
Your input is much appreciated.
